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An expert guide to the best cheap hotels in Venice, including the top affordable places to stay for canal views, boutique style and Venetian charm, in locations near to St Mark's Square, the Accademia and Rialto markets.

All prices cited are starting rates for double rooms, based on two people sharing, in low season. These prices are subject to change in high season and during popular holidays and events.

La Villeggiatura

La Villeggiatura is airy, elegant, and with a touch more originality in its design than so many hotels with that ‘traditional’ 18th-century Venetian look. The communal breakfast table gives the place a congenial air as guests swap advice and anecdotes over their cappuccino.

Owner Francesca Adilardi and her staff make guests feel very much at home, and are unfailingly charming and informative. La Villeggiatura’s very spacious themed rooms have appropriate frescos on their walls, polished wood floors, exposed wood beams,and beautiful fabrics everywhere. Mid- and low-season deals can make this a remarkably good-value accommodation option.

Locanda Fiorita

A friendly little 10-roomer, the Locanda lives up to its name (fiorita means ‘in flower’) with wisteria-covered terraces and bright window boxes. Décor is simple Venetian – nothing too ornate but with some nice pieces of antique furniture and lovely fabrics.

Wonderfully friendly staff, always ready to provide excellent advice and assistance, are the hallmark of the hotel. Surprisingly for a one-star, air-conditioning is good throughout. The rooms are bright and airy, and done out comfortably in tastefully subdued Venetian style in pale natural-hue pastels. Expect a good, fresh breakfast.

Décor at Locanda Fiorita is simple Venetian – with some nice pieces of antique furniture and lovely fabrics.

Ca’ Dogaressa

From your breakfast cappuccino at a table on the canal-side walk outside to your evening nightcap on the delightful roof terrace, you’re unlikely to find fault with this simple nine-room hotel in the northern Cannareggio district. Run by the affable Paolo Antenori and his family team, someone is always on hand to answer your queries and help you get the most out of the city.

Al Ponte Mocenigo

Beautifully stylish rooms – some with baldaquin beds, all in glowing colours with antique-style furniture – and effortlessly charming service are Al Ponte Mocenigo's hallmarks. 10 rooms in the main part of the hotel cluster around a delightful courtyard with ancient columns and a lovely antique well head. The look is classic Venetian with a contemporary twist; the feel is laid-back and very friendly.

When the weather permits, delightful ladies serve breakfast in the courtyard; otherwise, the excellent pastries and fresh fruit are consumed on the ground floor.

Rooms at Al Ponte Mocenigo are tastefully decorated in rich shades of green, red and gold.

B&B San Marco

There is absolutely nothing hotel-y about this b&b which is truly three lovely rooms (all with canal views) in what you will come to regard as your Venetian home. The experience begins at breakfast when the owners will sit with you in the kitchen and discuss not only things to do and places to eat, but Venice’s history, its current situation and what the future may hold for it.

Immersed in the heart of ‘real’ Venice – about half way between San Marco and the Arsenale – this is a lively, residential part of the city that many visitors miss.

Ca’ Zose

Ca’ Zose is an old-style hostelry: immaculately neat and clean with faux-antiques in bright colours and a general air of timelessness. With its jovial managers and old-world air, the 12-room hotel is a good bet for budget-conscious travellers and those wishing to be close to the Accademia Gallery and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

Enthusiastic front-desk staff are always ready with spot-on restaurant recommendations and any other advice or assistance you require. Unusually, the hotel is happy to accept guests with (small) pets.

Ca’ Zose is immaculately neat and clean with faux-antiques in bright colours.

Venice Certosa Hotel

This is no ordinary Venice hotel experience: the Certosa is on a lagoon island just off the eastern end of Venice proper, with the bustle of the Vento di Venezia boatyard and yacht marina nearby, whose patrons and workers often drop into the hotel's bar and restaurant.

Rooms are minimalist in the extreme, except for one specially commissioned modern artwork in each. All are spotlessly clean, have all the bare necessities. There’s also a late-night bar with a lovely outside seating space, and a restaurant, also with tables outside, which offers a mostly seafood menu.

The rooms at Venice Certosa Hotel are the rooms are spotlessly clean with good modern bathrooms.

Locanda San Barnaba

The 13-room, three-star San Barnaba occupies an elegant family palazzo a step-free stroll from the Ca’ Rezzonico vaporetto stop. Immaculately kept and very friendly, the Locanda has a pretty garden courtyard, a stately living area and a lovely little roof terrace – all within easy walking distance of many major sights.

Unless you’re craving a Grand Canal view or proximity to St Mark’s, the Locanda San Barnaba is pretty ideally placed.

Hotel Sant’Antonin

Hotel Sant’Antonin offers 13 classic-contemporary rooms – three with private terraces – and stunning private gardens close to St. Mark’s Square with an attentive staff who create a home-away-from-home ambiance for guests.

The elegantly decorated rooms all look out onto the back garden or front courtyard, except for the rooms with private terraces which have canal views. Original terrazzo floors are maintained throughout which are further enhanced by delicate Venetian fabrics.

Rosa Salva

The Rosa Salva is a rare gem in the heart of San Marco: an elegant, contemporary hotel offering twenty-two gorgeously decorated and well-appointed rooms.

A helpful and welcoming attitude derives directly from the proud Rosa Salva family who own the hotel along with Venice’s most well-known pastry shop next door. Spacious and elegant rooms allow for sound sleep in the most comfortable king-sized beds.

Ca’ San Giorgio

The Ca’ San Giorgio guesthouse, located in the lovely, tranquil Santa Croce district, is an excellent choice for visitors who realise that the challenge of navigating Venice’s maze of alleyways is part of the fun of visiting La Serenissima.

The little gothic palazzo has been beautifully restored, from the tiny private courtyard complete with well-head, to the wonderful wooden roof deck in the top suite. The eight rooms – two with little balconies – are a good size by Venice standards.